A piece of the past...

George and Jackie found her inside the chapel alone and crying.

Her friends silently sat beside her, Jackie at her right and George at her left. And Jackie started crying too. George followed. They sat there crying until the bell rang. Not one of them moved, not an inch.

And then Dannie started talking. She told them everything that had happened to her, everything her parents did to her. And she told them about Tessa.

PRESENT DAY

Tears were streaming down Dannie baby's face and I wanted to wipe them off with my squeaking wipers so bad. But I could no longer see that she was hurting as much as before. Yes, there were the tears, but it seemed that they were not part of her anymore. It was like she had learned how to accept the hurt and the pain and she was getting good at it.

What I couldn't fathom to see though was Troy's expression. When he finally learned and confirmed what her father had done to her, his face was too stern that I didn't even want to know what he was even thinking. It was like watching a boiling volcanic crater.

But there was more. And I was certain he was not ready to hear them because the moment Dannie told him about her hotel visits and how her mother sold her to different men after her husband was sent to prison, Troy pulled his hand away from Dannie, too swiftly that I thought he was about to hit her or something, and jumped off Tata's rear end. His hands were on his hips, his head bent, his face dark, and his steps without direction as he circled around the grassy ground.

A whimper escaped Dannie baby's lips as she watched Troy try to control himself and she covered her mouth with her hands. She was hurting with him and I could feel every bit of emotion from the both of them. Dannie seemed to be emptying herself of the pain after she told him and Troy was trying hard not to be consumed with anger as he paced around, his breathing heavier by the second.

"Goddammit, Danica, why didn't you tell me?" he asked in a whisper. I saw something glittery fall from his eyes. Shit, he's crying. It was dark, but the light of the moon caught the tears as they fell straight from his eyes. He did not even bother to wipe them away as he repeated his question a bit louder. "Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was shook with anger. I could see the crater boiling to its maximum.

Dannie didn't answer his question for a while. She waited until her sobs subsided before she said, "I don't want you to feel angry because—"

"The fuck I am angry!" Troy's cry rang out in the silence around us, making Dannie flinch. He kicked Tata's back wheel and cried out in anger. My poor friend just sort of give an engine kind of whimper but I hope she understood her owner's pain. "The fuck it's the first time I want to literally strangle someone with my bare hands and—" It was dark but I could see Troy's face turn red with anger as he scrunch his fingers before him, probably imagining an invisible neck in his hands. "Fuck!" he shouted once more and Dannie baby flinched again as she stayed in her spot with tears silently but slowly falling down her cheeks.

Troy saw and he immediately relaxed and walked in front of her where she sat, her legs dangling in the air. He took her face in his hands and cried in front of her like a real man that he was. His shoulders started shaking as he pulled her head toward him and planted his lips on her forehead. His action caused Dannie baby to cry harder. Her hands came up to hold his arms.

Troy was not a good crier. He cried with all his heart and he did not even bother to muffle the sounds. He sniffed and sobbed, pulling Dannie baby closer toward him. He whimpered and groaned in pain. He buried his face in her hair. She clung unto his shoulders as they waited for the tears to stop.

"Did anyone ever say sorry to you?" The pained question was muffled because his face was still buried in the crook of her neck. Dannie stifled another cry. "Did anyone ever say they're sorry?!" he shouted the question, his voice fierce and etched with agony.

Troy finally lifted his head away from her hair and cradled her head close to his heart. He took a deep breath and whispered incoherent words to her.

The sight would have made me whine like crazy because it was too dramatic for my taste, but they needed that moment together. They were both going through a different kind of healing together and I would not have interrupted it for the world. The two of them were in their own bubble, too delicate to disturb.

Troy eventually simmered down and Dannie's tears finally came to an end. He was still standing before her while she sat on Tata's open rear door. Her cheek was resting against his chest, his arms around her shoulders, more to calm him down than to give her comfort, I thought. He leaned away from her and tenderly looked down at her. His weak smile did not convince me he was over what happened though. Wiping the traces of tears away from her cheeks, he whispered, "I don't make a lot of promises, but I promise you one thing tonight, Danica. You will never go through that kind of pain again—not over my dead body, not ever. I'll take all the pain away whether or not you'll have me. I'll make sure I'll take them away." His voice broke at the last sentence. She closed her eyes as his thumbs caressed her face. "Oh, baby, please don't cry," he groaned when her tears started flowing again. Her hands held on to his wrists, keeping his hands in place.

"I can't help the tears. You started it. I was done crying," she sobbed.

Troy did not answer but planted his lips on her forehead once more. Then he kissed her wet eyelids. Then both her cheeks. I was holding my freaking breath with anticipation as Troy's lips hovered over Dannie's. His eyes were looking down at her. He was trying to decide whether it was okay or not. Well, I was okay with it. Hell, they could do anything they wanted that night and I would not have given a freaking care.

And he did just as what I had expected.

His mouth descended down toward hers and for a moment, their lips just did that butterfly touch kind of kiss. And when no resistance came from her, Troy my boy braved himself and went deeper, his hands on both sides of her face and hers holding on to his wrists. She could have pulled and he would have stopped, I was sure of that. But she did not do that. Instead, Dannie baby closed her eyes and a single tear rolled down her cheeks and that was the last I saw of her tears that night.

He actually stopped it. Unbelievable, right? Well, he did it after almost forever on my part. I was about to yawn and say goodbye to my friend Tata who still suffered an aching tire. Troy Brady actually ended the kiss himself. And what he said after made my engines snort. "Again, Danica, I am not sorry."

I half-expected Dannie baby to push him away and run toward me to drive me back home to Bacolod where we would be safe and away from Troy. That did not happen. She gently pushed him away, yes, but only to hop off from where she was sitting. "It's been a long night. I'll go to bed first."

Troy actually—and literally—turned to me with shock in his eyes. I KNOW, RIGHT?

No crying about someone stealing her kiss from her? No crying about betraying the Lord? No crying? NO CRYING AND RUNNING AWAY?

Hey, Troy my boy, I gotta say this is way better than Siquijor. Good job!

But Troy was no longer listening to me. Gone was his amused look just a few seconds ago. The anger and the frustration from earlier was clearly coating his face once more. He jumped right back on Tata's rear door and gulped down the remaining of his beer. Dannie baby had disappeared into the house, probably to bury her face in a pillow after that kiss. Troy was staring at an open air, his mind probably wandering to different things altogether.

Troy accompanied me for most of the night. He was silent but very much awake. I could still feel the anger boiling inside him when he decided to retire back inside to catch some sleep. Tata did not even say a word. She was busy crying over Dannie baby's past and her aching wheel.

I, on the other hand, was eager to find out how the two of them would deal with the aftermath in a few hours when the sun came up.

*****

And the sun did come up with a lot of surprises the next day.

First, I was in a fairly good mood even after all the drama last night. I didn't know why, but I just felt like I was. I couldn't explain it, really.

Second, well, Troy did give Tata and I a good, cool bath. If anyone thought it weird, let me just remind you that Tata and I are non-CARnal friends. And, hello, what else could we hide, right? Other than the fact that my friend had better high-end stuff inside her, we were pretty much the same in general.

Third and my most favorite, Dannie walked out of the house looking fresh and well-rested. Someone had a nice sleep, last night! Troy, on the other hand, tried to be very optimistic though it was obvious he was still bothered about what Dannie baby shared to him last night. I just hoped her mother do not show up in front of Troy again because I was not sure what he would do to the woman.

"Ready?" Dannie asked when Troy finally finished drying me up.

"Yeah, just a sec," Troy answered, walking away from me. "I'll just need to transfer a few stuff from Tata."

Dannie baby frowned. "You're leaving Tata behind?"

"I'll have someone deliver her to Bacolod this afternoon or tomorrow." He held up his hand before Dannie baby could object. "You are not driving alone today, Danica."

Minutes later, I was comforting Tata. Staying overnight in this place isn't such a bad thing, you know. You'll think a lot about your future and it can be very enlightening, I assured her, though I was not sure if I sounded convincing.

After lunch, Troy and Dannie baby were back on the road with me and Tata, my poor friend, was left to suffer. How I wish I could have told her that, but I am a good car-friend. She better pray to her holy makers that she could go home this afternoon or she'd wallow in depression tonight. The farm was only fun with other people around. Alone, eh!

Once we reached Bacolod, Dannie baby called the bride who was still angry over what happened. She was actually able to take her revenge and I was not even interested how she did it, crazy that she was.

Troy and Dannie baby stopped by the old airport which was sometimes open for visitors. Troy managed to convince the guard that they would not go further than the parking lot. The old trees that lined the lot were still there and I still remembered a few remnants of memories with my old owners in this place before the airport was transferred to Silay City. It was such a small airport that you could literally see the passengers climbing up and down the plane from the parking lot.

I knew why we were there. Dannie baby would sometimes drive by the old airport, but not enter the gates. She would just stare at the empty runway and then we would be off.

"Where do you think she is now?" Troy asked, his arms folded under his head as he stretched his legs in my driver seat.

Dannie baby had opened my window and was resting her arm over it, her chin buried in the crook of her arm. She gazed at the isolated runway ahead. Once it had been busy with domestic planes, now, apart from the occasional car races, it was empty with no trace of people coming to and from different places. "I don't know. As I've said, I always wish she's in a wonderful place."

"You know, ever since Tessa left, I worried about her for years. How she must have felt, how she coped with the longing. I just never told you that because I knew you were blaming yourself."

"I kept asking myself if what we did was right. Was I bad to let my mother hand her over to those missionaries?"

"No," Troy said, unclasping his one hand away from the other to reach out to touch her shoulder. "They offered her the best chance to recover. The worst you could have done was to let your sister grow up around that woman."

I wouldn't blame him if he didn't refer to that woman as anyone's mother. She didn't deserve it in the first place.

Dannie baby wiped away a single tear. "I just hope she understood. And sometimes I hope that she learned to forget about me—about us. If she had ever survived, I wanted her to claim a new life."

"Do you want to find her?"

Moron! If Dannie wanted to find her sister, she would have done that a long time ago! Dannie baby shook her head. "I never asked my mother. I never asked anyone. If I wanted Tessa to have a new life, I had to let go of her. She wouldn't have been able to start a new life if we were still clinging on to her."

"What if—"

Dannie shook her head. "No. I told the missionaries who took her that they shouldn't return. It was a no-return-no-exchange deal." Her voice was full of conviction. I couldn't imagine a high school girl like Dannie baby making such a big decision like that. But then again, she was not like any girls. She had been through a lot and she would have given anything for her sister—even if it meant their memories and time together.